Trump Relationship with Russia

Multiple intelligence agencies in the United States and abroad have confirmed a deliberate attempt by the Russian government to manipulate the results of the U.S. election with hacking and propaganda. Because Trump refused to release his income taxes as every other modern presidential candidate has, the extent of his business dealings in Russia are unclear. He has lied and said he has no ties to Russia.

More than 1,300 Trump condominiums were bought by shell companies, without a mortgage, which are key characteristics that the buyer is laundering money.

2018.01.16

Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, was subpoenaed by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into possible links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russianytimes.com(See also Steve Bannon, Legal Issues)

2018.01.17

US authorities are poring over hundreds of newly uncovered payments from Russian diplomatic accounts, including transactions by former ambassador Sergey Kislyak 10 days after the 2016 presidential election and a blocked $150,000 cash withdrawal five days after the inauguration.buzzfeed.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption, 2016 Election)

2018.01.18

The FBI is investigating whether a top Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump win the presidency, as it is illegal to use foreign money to influence federal elections.mcclatchydc.com(See also Russia, Legal Issues, 2016 Election)

2018.01.23

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours as part of the special counsel investigation, and the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, was interviewed by the office last year, marking the first time that investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are known to have questioned a member of President Trump’s cabinet.nytimes.com(See also Jeff Sessions, Department of Justice, Legal Issues)

2018.01.25

Donald Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, but ultimately backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign rather than carry out the directive.nytimes.com(See also Unpresidential Behavior, Legal Issues, Reversals)

2018.01.26

Donald Trump pressed senior aides last June to devise and carry out a campaign to discredit senior FBI officials after learning that those specific employees were likely to be witnesses against him as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.foreignpolicy.com(See also Unpresidential Behavior, Legal Issues)

2018.01.28

Republican lawmakers warned Donald Trump not to fire Robert S. Mueller III, but showed little sense of urgency to advance long-stalled legislation to protect the special counsel despite a report that Mr. Trump had tried to remove him last June.nytimes.com(See also Legal Issues, Corruption)

2018.01.29

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, disregarding Justice Department warnings that their actions would be “extraordinarily reckless,” voted Monday evening to release a contentious secret memorandum said to accuse the department and the F.B.I. of misusing their authority to obtain a secret surveillance order on a former Trump campaign associate, throwing fuel on an already fiery partisan conflict over the investigations into Russia’s brazen meddling in the 2016 presidential election.nytimes.com(See also Unprecedented Actions, Nationalism, 2016 Campaign, Assaults on Facts)

2018.01.29

The Trump administration informed lawmakers that new Russia sanctions called for in a bipartisan bill passed last year are not necessary yet because the measure is already "serving as a deterrent," despite the fact that lawmakers in both parties nudged the administration to implement sanctions legislation that passed overwhelmingly in July — with only five no votes in both the House and Senate.politico.com(See also Russia, Unprecedented Actions, 2016 Campaign)

Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed new charges against former Donald Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates describing a "scheme" in which the two longtime business partners allegedly laundered $30 million, failed to pay taxes for almost 10 years and used real estate they owned to fraudulently secure more than $20 million in loans.cnn.com(See also Legal Activity, 2016 Campaign, Russian Meddling in Election)

2018.02.27

US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday that he has not been granted the authority by Donald Trump to disrupt Russian election hacking operations where they originate.cnn.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election)

US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday that he has not been granted the authority by President Donald Trump to disrupt Russian election hacking operations where they originate.

2018.03.05

As Russia’s virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy.nytimes.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, Rex Tillerson, Department of State)

As a result, not one of the 23 analysts working in the department’s Global Engagement Center — which has been tasked with countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign — speaks Russian, and a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the Russian efforts.

The grand jury investigating alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign has sent a witness a subpoena seeking all documents involving the president and a host of his closest advisers, including emails, text messages, work papers, telephone logs and other documents going back to Nov. 1, 2015, 4½ months after Trump launched his campaign.nbcnews.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, Steve Bannon, Legal Issues)

2018.03.07

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has gathered evidence that a secret meeting in Seychelles including Blackwater founder Erik Prince, just before the inauguration of Donald Trump was an effort to establish a back channel between the incoming administration and the Kremlin — contradicting statements made to lawmakers by one of its participants.washingtonpost.com(See also Legal Issues, Corruption)

Erik Prince met with a Russian official close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and later described the meeting to congressional investigators as a chance encounter that was not a planned discussion of US-Russia relations.

Over two-thirds of U.S. House of Representatives Democrats urged Donald Trump to enact sanctions on Russia, the latest push by lawmakers for a response to investigators’ findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.reuters.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, 2016 Election)

“It's almost beyond comprehension that a state, an organized state would do something like that,” Rex Tillerson said on a trip to Africa, hours before being fired.

2018.03.15

The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, which is the first known instance of the special counsel demanding records directly related to Donald Trump’s businesses.nytimes.com(See also Legal Activity, Trump Business)

2018.03.18

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he opposed a proposal for Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people who have spoken about the matter to investigators with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or congressional committees.reuters.com(See also False Statements, leg, Legal Issues, Jeff Sessions, trump)

Analysis

Trump's numerous bankruptcies have made it difficult for him to get loans from U.S. banks, so he has had to turn to Russia for financing. He has lied about his relationship with Putin and with Russia. At least as far back as 2008, his company has claimed to do "disproportionate" business with Russia. He praised Putin and criticized Obama in a 2013 video (in timeline above), implying Putin was surveilling Trump's office. His advisers have business ties to Russia, including Paul Manafort, who resigned from the Trump campaign after the New York Times disclosed a secret ledger in Ukraine revealing $12.7 million in secret cash payments to Manafort.

There is consensus in the intelligence community that Putin directed hackers to release information intended to damage Hillary Clinton's campaign and secure the presidency for Trump. Trump's team made the Republican Party platform more favorable to Russia. And intelligence reports also indicate Russia has information that could be used to blackmail Trump.

Assessments

A hostile foreign power stole confidential correspondence from American citizens — this is no different than physically breaking into an American office and carting off boxes of written letters — and funneled that stolen material to a willing conspirator, Julian Assange. The foreign power then had its desired result achieved on our Election Day.